The Incredible Hulk

Inspired by whats been the best run in many years (Planet Hulk/World War Hulk) I wanted to work on a Hulk piece. Hulk has been a favorite of mine for many years. I have fond memories of the Bill Bixby, Lou Ferrigno series... in fact I remember "Don't make me angry, you wouldn't like me when I'm angry" being a catch phrase of mine as a kid. Plus which kid my age doesn't remember the great Rage in the Cage Hulk playset... pump up the Hulk and watch him burst from the cage. Great playset, wish I still had it. In fact I even enjoyed bits and pieces of the Ang Lee directed Hulk film.

The last couple of years in the comic realm have been a bit rough for him. A series of starts, restarts and misfires had turned off many fans. I'd go as far as to say the last time the book was a must read was when Peter David last wrote it and killed Betty off. Bruce Jones wrote a couple of compelling issues, but his run on the whole left me scratching my head a bit. Then finally the Illuminati decide to take matters in the own hands and ship Hulk off the Earth. What has ensued has been nothing short of brilliant by Greg Pak and a series of artist (most noteably Carlos Pagulayian and Gary Frank... who I'm so excited will be drawing Superman, can't wait). I've been waiting for the inevitable return to Earth by a smart, pissed off Hulk since the Illuminati shipped him off. World War Hulk is gonna be great.

With all that said, I wanted to work on a Hulk piece where he looked major league pissed off and showed off how powerful he actually is. Surprise, surprise I used a Michael Turner piece as my jumping in point. The original Micahel Turner piece has more vein and detail on the arms, but that just didnt mesh well with my style, so I played that down a bit and added more shading. I also went in once I finished the pencils and inks and added more depth and tone by just graying out certain areas of the musculature.

I've draw the Hulk before (in both High School and College) but I still think this is my best Hulk ever. I feel like I've grown a ton as an artist recently. My pencils have been really crisp and strong. My inking has also been surprisingly good. After never having really inked before, inking my pages and having them turn out decent has been a pleasant surprise. My favorite aspect of my art has always been my shading, I feel like I've always been able to shade pieces well. An example of that is the detailing I've included from the Hulk piece below.